In this course, we examine the economic roles of government and the tools that governments use to fulfill these roles. We will start with the questions, Under what circumstances is it possible for governments to improve on the outcomes that would occur in their absence? And how do we decide whether one outcome is better than another? The course will continue with an examination of the performance of governments in the United States. The primary questions addressed will be, What policies do governments pursue? How do they spend money to achieve the goals of these policies? How do they raise the money that they spend? And what sorts of undesired side effects might result from taxation and expenditure policies?